Serving tray and receptacle set



July 2 1 5 r M. KLINGHOFFER 2,845,207

SERVING TRAY AND RECEPTACLE SET Filed Aug. 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1(4fig. Z 6 3 MAX -KLINGHOFFER 6011, 4%,, We;

July 29, 1958 M. KLINGHOFFER 2,845,207

SERVING TRAY AND RECEPTACLE SET Filed Aug. 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 21.322%: MAX Kuusnarrsn United States Patent SERVING TRAY AND RECEPTACLESET Max Klingholfer, Elmhurst, Ill. 7 Application August 20, 1954,Serial No. 451,314

6 Claims. (Cl. 224-48) The present invention relates in general toserving ware and, more specifically, to a novel serving tray andreceptacle set. exclusive, utility in places such as homes, restaurantsand airplanes where food and beverages are to be served.

One object of the invention is to provide a tray set of the characterjust set forth and wherein one or more containers may be held securelyon a tray to avoid tipping while the tray is being carried, thecontainers being easily removable from the tray during serving ordistribution.

Another object is to provide a novel tray setof the foregoing typewherein both the tray and its associated containers are 'of simple,inexpensive construction and devoid of outside mechanical parts forholding the tray and containers together.

A further object is to provide a tray set of the character set forthwhich will readily lend itself to an attractive overall appearance.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdetailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an illustrative rtray set exemplifying thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the tray of Fig. 1, taken inthe plane of the line 22.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, also taken inthe plane of the line 22 in Fig. 1, and including an illustrativecontainer utilizable in the present invention. 7

Figs. 4 and 5 are views, partly in elevation and partly in section,showing two additional forms of container utilizable in the presentinvention.

Figs. 6 and 7 are, respectively, plan and vertical sectional viewsshowing another form of tray set also embodying the invention.

Figs, 8 and 9 are, respectively, plan and enlarged vertical sectionalviews showing still another illustrative embodiment of the invention.

Figs. 10 and 11 are views similar to Figs. 8 and 9 but showing a furtherembodiment of the invention.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications andalternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments have beenshown in the drawings and will be described below in considerabledetail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention tolimit the inventionto the specific forms disclosed, but, on thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternativeconstructions and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of theinvention as expressed in the appended claims.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is shown in Figs. 1, 2and 3 a novel tray set 10 which repre- The invention finds particular,but not sents an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

The set 10 comprises a serving tray 11 and one or more receptacles orcontainers each represented by the numeral 12 and which, in thisinstance, happen to be drinking glasses. Six glasses have been shown inthe drawing but ice the set 10 may, of course, consist of variousnumbers of glasses. By the same token, the set 10 may include one ormore other receptacles such as cup 12A shown in Fig. 4 or condimentdispenser 12B shown in Fig. 5.

Provision is made for enabling one or more of the receptacles 12 to becarried about on the tray 11 without danger of tipping or sliding, andyet be readily removable from the tray as an incident :to being pickedup by the server or by'the person to be served. This is accomplished byconstructing the tray 11 with a portion 14 of high magneticpermeability, which may for example be ferrous metal, and an adjacentportion 15 of low or negligible magnetic permeability, which may forexample be a moldable plastic such as polystyrene. The portion 15 inthis instance happens to be disposed in surrounding relation with theportion 14 but it will be appreciated that a converse relationship isalso Within the scope of the invention. For convenience in the presentdescription, the portion 14 will be referred to as the magneticallyactivemember, while the portion 15 will be referred to as themagnetically inert member. The magnetically active member 14 may berecessed or otherwise mounted in the tray body in such :a manner that acommon coplanar face 16, which constitutes the upper face of the tray11, is defined over the members 14 and 15. The face 16 may be acomposite of the members 14, 15 or it may, on the other hand, be definedin part by a coating of magnetically'inert material integral with themember 15. The face 16 is preferably surrounded by a border in the formof an upstanding bead or rib 18.

One or more of the glasses or other receptacles 12, 12A, 12B isoperatively associated with the tray 11. Each such receptacle isprovided with an element 19 of high magnetic permeability (Figs. 3, 4and 5). In the present case, the element 19 is situated in "the bottomof the receptacle and is permanently magnetized. The glass or or otherreceptacle 12, 12A, 12B may, of course, be so constructed as to includein its component material a highly magnetically permeable substancesusceptible of being permanently magnetized. The bottom of the receptacle and the tray members 14, 15, are so dimensioned that thereceptacle may be positioned substantially entirely on either the member14 or the member 15. Preferably, the parts are so proportioned that themembers 14 and 15 are each capable of accommodating several receptacleswith each receptacle adapted to fit substantially entirely on eithermember.

To utilize the tray set just described, the receptacles, in this casethe glasses 12, may be filled and placed on the tray face 16 so as tooverlie the magnetically active member 14. By reason of thesubstantially closed magnetic circuit between the magnetic element 19 ofeach glass and the member 14, the glasses are securely held against theface 16 of the tray and will resist tipping in spite of severe jostling:of the tray. As each glass is to be served, it is only necessary forthe server or the .guest to slide the glass along the face '16 from themagnetically active member 14 to the magnetically inert member 15, asshown in Fig. 3. Since the magnetic attraction between the active member14 of the tray and the magnetic element 19 of the glass offers verylittle resistance to such motion, it can easily be completed withoutspilling the contents of the glass. Once such motion has been completed,the glass may then be freely lifted from the face of the tray, asindicated in Fig. 3.

Turning now to Figs. 6 and 7, there is shown another illustrative trayset 10A which also exemplifies the present invention. The set 10A inthis case comprises a hospital serving tray 20 and one or morereceptacles such as the glass 12. The tray 20 is of oblong shape andincludes supporting legs 21. It also includes a substantiallyrectangular magnetically active member 22, similar to the member 14described earlier herein, and an adjacent magnetically inert member 24,similar to the member 15 described above. A common coplanar tray face 25overlies both the members 22 and 24 and may be surrounded by a borderrib 26. Since the tray 20 and its associated receptacles may be utilizedin the same manner as the tray 11 and receptacles, further discussion inthat connection is believed to be unnecessary.

In Figs. 8 and 9, there is shown a modified tray set B which alsoembodies the invention. The set 10B is generally similar to the set 10but differs in the specific arrangement of the magnetically active andmagnetically inert members. As shown in the drawings, the set 10Bcomprises a tray 28 having a plurality of magnetically active members 29and a plurality of magnetically inert members 39. In this instance, themembers 29 and 30 are sector-shaped and disposed in alternate seriesrelation with each other, the tray 28 being so constructed that themembers 30 are of the same material as the tray body and the members 29being metallic inserts recessed into the tray body. A common coplanarsurface 31, defining the upper face of the tray, overlies all of themembers 29, 30, and may be surrounded by the border rib 32.

Receptacles, such as the glasses 12 described earlier herein, may beused with the tray 28, the parts being proportioned so that eachreceptacle is adapted to fit substantially entirely on any member 29 aswell as any member 30. To remove a receptacle from the tray 28, it isonly necessary to slide it laterally, as shown diagrammatically in Fig.8, from an active member 29 to an inactive member 30. Once this has beendone, the receptacle may be freely lifted from the tray.

Referring next to Figs. 10 and 11, there is shown another illustrativetray set 10C which represents a further modification of the invention.The set 10C comprises a tray 34 which may conveniently be fabricatedfrom plastic material or any other magnetically inert substance.Recessed or embedded within the tray 34 is a magnetically active member35 of the same character as the members 14, 22 and 29 described earlierherein. The upper face of the tray 34 is formed with a plurality ofupstanding and substantially radially extending guide ribs 36. The ribs36, together with a central boss 38 and a border rib 39, define aplurality of shallow pockets 40. Each of the pockets 40 has a relativelysmooth floor 41 which overlies a part of the magnetically active member35 as well as an adjacent part 42 of the tray constituting amagnetically inert member.

One or more receptacles such as the glasses 12 may be operativelyassociated with the tray 34, the parts being so proportioned that eachglass 12 is adapted to fit substantially entirely over the magneticallyactive member 35 as well as the magnetically inactive member 42 of eachpocket. With this arrangement, the side walls of each pocket 40, andparticularly the ribs 36, serve as a guide means which facilitatesmoving of the glass from the magnetically active member 35 to themagn'etically inert member 42 of its associated pocket prior to liftingthe glass from the tray, as indicated in Fig. 10.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a tray and receptacle set, the combination comprising a servingtray having a magnetically active member and a magnetically inert memberadjacent said active member, said tray having an upper face defining arelatively smooth common supporting surface overlying both said members,and a receptacle having a base dimension adapting it to fit primarily onsaid active member as well as primarily on said inert member, saidreceptacle having a magnetically active element and being susceptible 4application of an external force thereto, said receptacle being freelyremovable from said inert member.

2. In a tray and receptacle set of the character set forth, a traycomprising, in combination, a magnetically active member, a magneticallyinert member, one of said members being disposed in surrounding relationwith the other, said tray having an upper face defining a relativelysmooth planar surface overlying both said members and adapted to supporta receptacle having a magnetically active element, whereby thereceptacle may be held against tipping by standing the same on saidsupporting surface over said active member and whereby said receptablemay be made freely disengageable by sliding the same along said surfaceso as to overlie said inert member.

3. In a tray and receptacle set of the character set forth, a servingtray comprising the combination of a tray body, a member recessed insaid tray body and having a relatively high magnetic permeability, saidmember also having a smooth top surface thereon, said body having aperipheral portion of relatively low magnetic permeability surroundingsaid recessed portion, said peripheral member also having areceptacle-supporting smooth top surface thereon coplanar with saidsmooth top surface on said recessed member.

4. In a tray and receptacle set, the combination comprising a servingtray having a magnetically a'ctive member and a magnetically inertmember adjacent said active member, said tray having an upper facedefining a plurality of relatively shallow pockets over said active andinert members, each said pocket having a planar floor overlying at leasta part of said active member and a part of said inert member, each saidpocket being adapted to receive a receptacle having a base dimensionmaking said receptacle positionable primarily on said part of saidactive member as well as primarily on said part of said inert member.

5. In a tray and receptacle set, the combination of a serving trayhaving a magnetically active member and a magnetically inert memberadjacent said active member, said tray having an upper face defining acommon planar supporting surface overlying both said members, areceptacle having a base dimension making said receptacle positionablesubstantially entirely on said active member as well as substantiallyentirely on said inert member, said receptacle having a magneticallyactive element and being susceptible of being slid along said supportingsurface from said active member to said inert member by the deliberateapplication of an external force thereto, and an upstanding abutmentadapted to guide said receptacle as the same is slid along saidsupporting surface.

6. In a tray and receptacle set, the combination comprising a servingtray having a magnetically active member and a magnetically inert memberadjacent said active member, means defining a relatively smooth planarsupporting surface overlying both said members, and an upstandingperipheral rib disposed in surrounding relation with said planarsupporting surface and projecting above the plane of said surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS407,477 Ezell July 23, 1889 469,597 Reid Feb. 23, 1892 982,351 Cree etal. Jan. 24, 1911 1,949,285 Porter Feb. 27, 1934 2,177,905 McKeehan Oct.31, 1939 2,217,51 r Henry Oct. 8, 1940 2,527,482 Kinzler et a1. Oct. 24,1950 2,609,221 Schultz Sept. 2, 1952 2,641,793 Wilm June 16, 1953FOREIGN PATENTS 500,752 Great Britain Feb. 15, 1939

